Hows your cooling system?

[liberty84]

So 8K miles ago my wife was driving my KJ and overheated on her, first thing I thought it was the t-stat and since it was kind of cheap I replaced it, 2 weeks later I checked the level of the coolant and it was low so I started to look arounf, it came out to be that some corrosion was eating little by little the seal from the water pump, so about $60 fix that.

Now, lastnight I saw coolant on my driveway and I checked the level of the coolant again and it was low so I follow the leak and its a crak on the radiator its on the top right side and its small as a hair, I bought some of that stuff you mix and its suppouse to seal, but I checked today and no luck, I'm gonna take it of, sand it again and try some JB weld, I would really like an aluminum radiator?

So I'm gonna try that JB weld just as temporary until I get a new radiator o by the way I got 151K on it, and I aint giving up on it

My wife told me I should trade it in for a 4 door JK 4x4 but I really like my libby and I still got a lot of plans for it so. Naa I aint getting rid of her

 

[trail rated]

Don't wait to fix the radiator, the 3.7 doesn't like overheating.

Also, this happened to me after a few months of a weeping radiator.

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[liberty84]

Don't wait to fix the radiator, the 3.7 doesn't like overheating.

Also, this happened to me after a few months of a weeping radiator.

Daaamn what the best replacement we can get???

 

[Powerslave]

PLASTIC...

If you have a KJ without the trans cooling lines, get that one, and place that cooling BEFORE the external cooler.

There is no real BETTER one, they all are plastic crap now.

 

[oddball]

And only use ZEREX HOAT G05 coolant!

 

[liberty84]

what do you mean place the cooling before the external cooler??

 

[Powerslave]

what do you mean place the cooling before the external cooler??

You get the KJ rad with the built in cooler, and connect the rear pump line to the rad's cooler line connection first. Then you go out the other side of the rad, into the external cooler connection. Then out other side of the external cooler into the FRONT pump line back to the transmission.

 

[liberty84]

You get the KJ rad with the built in cooler, and connect the rear pump line to the rad's cooler line connection first. Then you go out the other side of the rad, into the external cooler connection. Then out other side of the external cooler into the FRONT pump line back to the transmission.

Do they all have that built in cooler? Mine is an 05 sport.

 

[LibertyOrDeath]

My 06 has a separate trans cooler and not a built in one.

 

[Corwyyn]

Do they all have that built in cooler? Mine is an 05 sport.

No they do not. My '03 has an external trans cooler and the original radiator did not have any built-in cooling for the trans. The new radiator I just put in it does have the connections for the internal trans cooler but I'm not planning on doing anything with it.

Also check your cooling fan - it appears that mine is on the way out and may have caused some of the overheating issues I have had recently (but the radiator was leaking at the upper inlet as well).

 

[ThunderbirdJunkie]

Don't wait to fix the radiator, the 3.7 doesn't like overheating.

Also, this happened to me after a few months of a weeping radiator.

Wait, what? MONTHS? Y...nevermind.

Replace the radiator immediately, and use one that local parts houses keep in stock. Don't order online, because...well...ThunderbirdJunkie is on #4. Sure the one he ordered from a mail-order joint had a liftetime warranty...good thing it was the lifetime of the Jeep, not the lifetime of the radiator SHOCKED.gif

 

[liberty84]

So if it doednst have an external one its built in or what?

 

[kb0nly]

Just to get by, don't bother with JB Weld, that stuff is crap, it never seems to stick to anything when i have tried it.

Go to any auto parts store and get a two part epoxy, i like the 60 second epoxy in the two part syringe with a mixing nozzle on it. Then make sure the coolant is below the level of the crack so it doesn't seep through while your trying to repair it, then lightly sand the area of the crack, you don't need to go rough just 220 grit is plenty, you just want to take the shine off the plastic and give it some tooth for the epoxy. You can even take a utility knife an slightly cut out the crack to make a V shape for the epoxy to set in. Then clean well with alcohol and mix and apply the epoxy in a thin coat, you can always do a second thing coat later. And if you want to hide it take some black spraypaint, the stuff for plastic works best of course, and just give it a couple coats.

I did this on my dad's 88 Royale, it has the plastic tanks too. Took a half a day to do it all but it worked, that was two years ago and its still not leaking, and it was intended to be a temporary fix but it held up. The better epoxies will feel hot as they cure, they will actually bond/melt into the plastic. The main tip here is get epoxy meant for plastics.

However, don't expect it to last forever, the problem is the plastic expands and contracts as it heats and cools, and eventually the harder epoxy will crack or it will crack next to the same spot, etc..

Better to replace it, but if you need a couple weeks until you got the cash for a new radiator you can get by $5 and some spare time.

 

[ThunderbirdJunkie]

LOL ThunderbirdJunkie used JB weld on his '91 Montero's radiator's top tank because he was on a roadtrip.

Never leaked again

Until the day he sold it. 20 minutes after it left, the guy called, mad as hell

YOU SOLD ME A JUNK TRUCK WITH A JUNK RADIATOR PATCHED WITH JB WELD!

Uh...worked fine for 2 years, sorry

 

[LibertyOrDeath]

The radiator I got was a Performance Radiator and I paid $165 for it. You can get it through them for $156.

http://www.usaradiator.com/JEEP--LIBERTY--2005.html

 

[liberty84]

hey Kb0only thankx for the heads up I'm gonna try epoxy at least until I get for that nice radiator midnight recommeded but is it really a Operformance" part or is it just liike the OEM?

Also what's with the cooler built in and external do all libertys have it, some built in and some external or hows that??

Thankx guys for the info

 

[Powerslave]

So if it doednst have an external one its built in or what?

The average vehicle has the cooler in the bottom, or side of the radiator. I have a 2006 KJ, with a separate external cooler, which causes a lot of high-low temperature fluctuations.

The ones with the cooler in the RAD only, it is a more steady temp, but, always above a certain degrees at operating temp. So, if you have the external one, and have to replace the rad, then the best way would be with an older style rad, to have the aux cooling after the rad one. This will produce a steadier, cooler temp range, than just an separate external cooler.

I put one (aux cooler) on my Avenger when I bought it, and the transmission was excellent at 150K+ miles. Heat is the #1 killer of automatics, especially Chrysler.

 

[liberty84]

Yea I found it it has an external one on the bottom

 

[kb0nly]

Now there is some constructive advice! kn0nly, thanks!

Your welcome!

I know it sounds cheap to glue a rad tank, but you do what you gotta do these days to get by. In all honesty he could afford a replacement his next paycheck but it wasn't leaking so he decided to set the money aside and wait a little longer, and then that little longer turned into years... LOL

 

[liberty84]

HEY I really wasn't expecting a lot from the epoxy K0nly but I still tried it and it worked like a charm.....

Thankx man!!!!